Pixel 3 XL OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out
Dr. Raymond M. Soneira
President, DisplayMate Technologies
Corporation
Copyright © 1990-2018 by DisplayMate
Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This article, or any part
thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated
into any other work without
the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation
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Pixel 3 XL
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Introduction
The key element for a great
Smartphone has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and
the best leading edge Smartphones have always flaunted their super high tech
displays. It is the display performance that determines how good and how
beautiful everything on the Smartphone looks, including the camera photos and
all of your Apps, and also how readable and how usable the screen is in high ambient
lighting. The Display is the crown jewel of the Smartphone!
In this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series we only cover
the Very Best State-of-the-Art Top Performing and Top Tier Smartphone Displays.
The articles are designed to promote Display Performance so that consumers,
reviewers, and analysts all recognize and appreciate Display Excellence, and
also to reward and encourage manufacturers to produce top performing displays
for their products.
Based on our extensive
Lab Tests and Measurements the display on the Google
Pixel 3 XL delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier Display Performance and receives Very Good to Excellent Ratings in All of the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement
Categories. The Pixel 3 XL is only the third display we have ever tested to do
so, and receives our highest ever Overall Display
Assessment Grade of A+ together with a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award. Google has
improved the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality
and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays
by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration,
moving the overall Pixel 3 XL display
performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching a number of Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect. This demonstrates that Google recognizes the importance of
Display Excellence and has made a major commitment to improving Smartphone
Display Performance.
In this article we lab test, measure, analyze, and evaluate in depth the
display on the Pixel 3 XL. This is an
independent scientific objective lab test and analysis of OLED displays written
for consumers and journalists. It is the latest edition in our eight year
article series that has lab tested, tracked and analyzed the development of
mobile OLED displays and display technology, from its early beginnings in 2010,
when OLED displays started out in last place, into a rapidly improving and
evolving display technology that now has a commanding first place lead and
continues pushing ahead aggressively.
We’ll cover all of the these display performance topics and much more,
with in-depth comprehensive display tests, measurements, and analysis that you
will find nowhere else.
The Shift from LCD to OLED Displays
LCDs are a great cutting edge high performance display technology for
Tablets to TVs, but for small handheld Smartphones, OLED displays provide a
number of significant advantages over LCDs including: being much thinner, much
lighter, without needing a bezel providing a rimless edge-to-edge design. They
can be made flexible and into curved screens, plus they have a very fast
response time, better viewing angles, and an always-on display mode. Many of
the OLED performance advantages result from the fact that every single
sub-pixel in an OLED display is independently directly electrically powered to
emit light, so only the active image sub-pixels draw power based on their
individual brightness levels. OLEDs can also provide better color accuracy,
image contrast accuracy, and screen uniformity because of variations in the
Backlights of LCDs.
As the result of their very versatile power management capabilities,
OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but
they now deliver much higher peak Brightness than LCDs because the maximum
power can be delivered to just the sub-pixels that are needed for producing the
current image. However, for mostly all white screen content LCDs are likely to
remain brighter and more power efficient for a while.
OLED
displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and
flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art
performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology
for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years.
With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality,
and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to
challenge OLED.
Article Overview
This article has the following Main Sections:
· Pixel 3 XL
Display Highlights and Performance Results
· Pixel 3 XL
Display Conclusions
· Improving
the Next Generation of Mobile Displays
· Pixel 3 XL Display
Lab Measurements Comparison Table
The Display Shoot-Out
To examine the
performance of the new Pixel 3 XL OLED Display
we ran our in-depth series of Mobile
Display Technology Shoot-Out Lab tests and measurements in order to
determine how the latest OLED displays have improved. We take display quality
very seriously and provide in-depth objective analysis based on detailed
laboratory tests and measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test
patterns, test images and test photos. To see how far OLED and LCD mobile
displays have progressed in just eight years see our 2010 Smartphone
Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone Display
Shoot-Out.
Google provided DisplayMate Technologies with a pre-announcement
production unit of the Pixel 3 XL so that we could perform our well known
objective and comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests, measurements, and analysis,
explaining in-depth the new display performance results for consumers,
reviewers, and journalists as early as possible.
Pixel 3 XL Display Highlights and
Performance Results
In this section we review and explain the principal
results from the extensive DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements
in the following categories: Display
Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen Reflections, Brightness
and Contrast,
Colors and Intensities,
Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angles, OLED Spectra,
Display Power.
Display Lab Tests and
Measurement Data Table
See the Display Shoot-Out Lab
Measurements Comparison Table for the complete set of Pixel 3 XL DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements.
Main Topics
Covered
This Display Highlights and
Performance Results section has detailed information and analysis on the
Pixel 3 XL Display for the topics listed below.
You can also skip this section and go directly to the Pixel 3 XL Display Conclusions for a Summary of the
Display Test Results.
· Large Full Screen Display
· 3K High Resolution Display
· Industry Standard Color Gamuts
· Automatic Color Management
· Selectable Color Modes
· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy
· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales Independent of APL
· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient
Light
· High
Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display
· Night Light Mode for Better Night Viewing
· Always On Display Mode
· Diamond Sub-Pixels
· Viewing Angle Performance
· Viewing Tests Performance
· Display Power Efficiency
· Display Related Enhancements
· Large Full Screen Display with an Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9
The Pixel 3 XL has a large 6.3 inch full screen display that fills almost the entire front
face of the phone from edge-to-edge. The Home button and Navigations buttons
are incorporated within the touchscreen display.
The display has a form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06,
which is 16% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and
widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the
entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This
provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple Apps and content
simultaneously on-screen side-by-side.
The very top of the screen has an Black Slot cutout area from the display 0.35” high (9 mm) that holds
the two front facing cameras, ambient light and proximity sensors, and ear
speaker. It’s noticeable but also easy to get used to because it takes up just 2.3% of the total Screen
Area. The left and right tabs on either side of the Slot are typically used to
show App data that would otherwise need to be shown in the primary display
area.
· 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ 2960x1440 Display with 523
pixels per inch
As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect
Ratio, the Pixel 3 XL has a 3K High Resolution Quad
HD+ display with 2960x1440 pixels and 523 pixels per inch, with 4.2 Mega Pixels, double the
number on your HDTV. It can display more than four complete HD 1280x720 images
at once. The display has Diamond Pixels (see
below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 523 pixels
per inch (ppi), providing significantly higher image sharpness than can be
resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at the typical viewing distances of 12 inches
or more for Smartphones, so the display appears perfectly sharp.
The Pixel 3 XL uses Sub-Pixel
Rendering, which further improves image sharpness because the individual
Red, Green and Blue Sub-Pixels are treated as independent addressable image
elements and are not bound together into fixed Pixels, so the closest sub-pixel
is used when rendering the image. In some cases Sub-Pixel Rendering can make
the screen appear to have up to 3 times the resolution of traditional Pixel
Rendering. As a result, for Smartphones it is
absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per
inch (ppi) up to 4K (3940x2160 pixels) for a silly marketing wild goose chase
into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!
· Industry Standard Color Gamuts
The Pixel 3 XL supports the two most important Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color
Gamut that is used for most current consumer
content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is
26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut. But Automatic Color Management
provides many more Gamuts...
· Automatic Color Management
Most Smartphones and Tablets generally provide only one
to up to several fixed Color Gamuts. The Pixel 3 XL has
Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper
Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space
that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct
colors, neither over-saturated or under-saturated. Automatic
Color Management with multiple and varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and
important state-of-the-art capability that all manufacturers will need to
provide in the future.
· Selectable Color Modes
The Pixel 3 XL provides 3 user selectable Color Modes that provide control of the Vividness of
displayed images for each Color Gamut. They are the Natural
Mode, which provides the most Accurate Colors, the Boosted
Mode, which increases the Color Saturation of images by using an enlarged Color
Gamut, and the Adaptive Mode, which provides an
adjustable Color Gamut up to the Full Native Color Gamut of the OLED display.
Note that all of the tests and
measurements below are with the Natural Mode.
Use Display Settings to switch
between the Selectable Color Modes.
See this Figure for the Color Gamuts and Color Modes
and the Colors and Intensities section for
the measurements and details.
· Very High Absolute Color
Accuracy
Delivering great color with high Absolute Color Accuracy
is incredibly difficult because everything on the display has to be done just
right. In order to deliver accurate image colors, a display needs to closely
match the standard Color Gamut that was used for producing the content being
viewed – not more and not less. In addition the display also needs an accurate
(pure logarithmic power-law) Intensity
Scale, and particularly important is an accurate White
Point.
Each Pixel 3 XL OLED display is
individually calibrated at the factory. Since the Pixel 3 XL supports
two Standard Color Gamuts it performs Calibrated Color
Management so the colors appear correctly and accurately based on the
on-screen image content.
The Absolute Color Accuracy
of the Pixel 3 XL is Truly Impressive as shown
in these Figures. It
has an Absolute Color Accuracy of 1.1 JNCD
(Just Noticeable Color Difference) for the sRGB /
Red.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and 1.0 JNCD for the Wider DCI-P3
Color Gamut that is used for 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema, which are Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and very
likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that
you have.
Note that in order to obtain this High Absolute Color
Accuracy the Color Mode must be set to Natural in Display Settings, and the Night Light mode must also be Off because it changes the White Point of the display from the
6500 K Standard, which then changes the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the
Color Gamut. See this Figure
for an explanation and visual definition of Just Noticeable Color Difference JNCD and the Color Accuracy Plots with
41 Reference Colors showing the measured
display Color Errors. See the Color Accuracy
section and the Color
Accuracy Plots for measurements and details, and also this regarding lots
of Bogus Color
Accuracy Measurements.
· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of
the on-screen Image Content APL
The Absolute Color Accuracy and
Intensity Scale of the display should not change as the on-screen image content
changes.
With the continuing improvements in display performance
we have added a new set of advanced tests that measure the variations in the
Absolute Color Accuracy and the Intensity Scales with changing
Average Picture Level APL, comparing the Shifts between Low APL and 50% High APL.
Previous generation displays with large Peak Luminance changes with APL
typically show Large Shifts in the Intensity
Scale and Large Shifts in Absolute Color
Accuracy with APL. Since the Pixel 3 XL has a small 6
percent change in Luminance with APL, we expect Small
Shifts with APL, which we analyze next...
Figure
3 shows the Variation
in the Intensity Scales between Low APL and 50% APL. Any change in the
Intensity Scale will affect the Absolute Color Accuracy. There is only a small Shift in the Intensity Scales, with the Gamma
varying from 2.23 for Low APL to 2.30 for 50% APL.
As a result, the Image Contrast remains relatively unchanged with APL.
Figure
4 shows the Variation
in the Absolute Color Accuracy between Low APL and 50% APL. The Color
Shifts with APL are small, with an Average Color Shift
of just 0.5 to 0.7 JNCD and the Largest Color
Shifts are only 1.4 to 1.6 JNCD. In addition, the White Point Shift with APL is just 0.3 to 0.4 JNCD.
All of the Shifts with APL are small, Visually
Indistinguishable, and rated Excellent. See this Figure for an explanation
and visual definition of JNCD and the Color APL Shifts section for measurements and details.
· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Light
Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright
ambient lighting, which washes out the image color saturation and contrast,
reducing picture quality and making it harder to view or read the screen. To be
usable in high ambient light a display needs a dual combination of high Screen Brightness and low Screen
Reflectance – the Pixel 3 XL has both. This is extremely important for
screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.
The Pixel 3 XL has a
100% APL Calibrated Full Screen Brightness of 405 nits for the Calibrated Color Gamuts, which improves screen visibility in high
Ambient Light. On its Home Screen the Pixel 3
XL produces 424 nits. See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and
details.
The Pixel 3 XL has a Record Low
Screen Reflectance of 4.3 percent, the lowest that we have ever measured
for a Smartphone. Our Contrast
Rating for High Ambient Light quantitatively measures screen
visibility and image contrast under bright Ambient Lighting – the higher the
better. As a result of its high Brightness and low Reflectance, the Pixel 3 XL
has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light
that ranges from 94 to 101, among the highest that we
have measured for the Calibrated sRGB/Rec.709 and DCI-P3 Color Gamuts.
See the Screen Reflectance and High Ambient Light sections for the measurements
and details.
· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display
The Pixel 3 XL is certified for Mobile
HDR, which allows it to play the same 4K High
Dynamic Range
content produced for 4K UHD TVs, including streamed HDR10 videos. HDR provides
expanded the Color, Contrast, and Brightness of video content. In order to
provide Mobile HDR, the Pixel 3 XL has the required Digital Cinema DCI-P3 Wide
Color Gamut, High Peak Luminance (up to 680 nits for HDR, which exceeds the 540
nits requirement for Mobile HDR), plus perfect Blacks and Infinite Contrast
Ratio from its OLED display.
· Night Light Mode for Better Night Viewing
The Night Light mode on the Pixel 3 XL is designed to
change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue
light produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect
how well users sleep afterwards. In a separate article we
explain and analyze the Blue Light issue for displays. The Pixel 3 XL includes
a user adjustable slider to vary the amount of Blue light produced by the
display, and a timer that allows the Night Light to be turned on and off
automatically every day. The measured variation in the display Light Spectrum
with the adjustable Night Light slider is shown in this Figure and
below.
As the Night Light
slider setting is increased, the amount of Blue light emitted by the display
decreases. When that happens, White and all screen colors take on an increasing
yellowish tint and color cast. At the Middle setting
the measured White Color Temperature decreases to 3,400
K, and at the Maximum setting it
decreases to 2,600 K, the Color Temperature of
traditional incandescent lighting, which is yellowish. With Night Light at its
Maximum setting, the measured Blue Light is reduced by
80 percent. Turning down the screen Brightness will further decrease the
amount of Blue Light.
Note that since Night
Light changes the White Point of the display from the 6500 K Standard, the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color
Gamut is also affected and reduced. The measured
display Spectra for several of the Night Light settings are included in this Figure and
below.
· Super Dim Setting
The Pixel 3 XL also has a Super
Dim Setting that allows the Maximum Screen Brightness to be set all the
way down to just 3 cd/m2 (nits)
using the Brightness Slider. This is perfect for night use on a beside table,
and useful for working comfortably without eye strain or bothering others in
very dark environments, or affecting the eye’s dark adaptation, such as when
using a telescope. The display still provides full 24-bit color and the picture
quality remains excellent.
· Always On Display Mode
The Pixel 3 XL has an Always On
Display mode that takes advantage of the very low power capability of an OLED
display when most of the image pixels are black, because every sub-pixel is
independently powered, and therefore doesn’t use any power when black. The
Always On mode is super power efficient and typically requires only a few
percent of the maximum display power. So when the phone is off (in standby) it
is possible to always display some text and graphics on a black background all
day and all night without a significant power drain that would reduce the
battery running time.
The Always On Display produces an illuminated main screen image 24 hours
a day so you can always discreetly check it with just a glance. It shows the time, date, battery level, and notifications
on the main screen when the phone is off (in standby). The Brightness
(Luminance) depends on the Ambient Light level. The day mode has a measured
Luminance of about 50 cd/m2
(nits) on a black background, which is very readable
but not distracting for normal indoor ambient lighting, and is visible outdoors
if you shade the screen with your hand. The night mode is entered for very low
Ambient Light lux levels and has a measured Luminance of 3 nits, so it makes a great
Night Clock that won’t disturb you if it’s on your bedside table. In addition,
the Always On Display mode is turned off when it senses a dark confined space
so the battery isn’t wasted in a pocket or pocketbook.
· Diamond Sub-Pixels
A Diamond Sub-Pixel layout is used on most Smartphone
OLED displays rather than an RGB Stripe pattern that is used for most LCDs. The
Red, Green, and Blue sub-pixels have very different sizes -- Blue is by far the
largest because it has the lowest light emission efficiency, and Green is by
far the smallest because it has the highest efficiency. The alternating Red and
Blue sub-pixel arrangement leads to a 45 degree diagonal symmetry in the
sub-pixel layout. This allows vertical, horizontal, and particularly diagonal
line segments and vectors to be drawn with reduced aliasing and artifacts. In
order to maximize the sub-pixel packing and achieve the highest possible pixels
per inch (ppi), that leads to a Diamond rather than Square or Striped
arrangement of the Sub-Pixels.
· Viewing Angle Performance
While Smartphones are
primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with
viewing angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold
the display at a variety of viewing angles. The angle is often up to 30
degrees, more if it is resting on a table or desk. While LCDs typically
experience a 55 percent or greater decrease in Brightness at a 30 degree
Viewing Angle, the OLED Pixel 3 XL display shows a much smaller 28 percent decrease in Brightness at 30 degrees. This
also applies to multiple side-by-side viewers as well, and is a significant
advantage of OLED displays.
OLED displays generally
have smaller Color Shifts with Viewing Angle than most LCDs (except for IPS and
FFS based LCD displays). For OLEDs the Color Shifts with Viewing Angle result
primarily from the Cavity Effect that that is
used to increase the Brightness efficiency of the display because it affects
the Red, Green, and Blue Primaries differently. For
the Pixel 3 XL this produces a small Color Shift in the direction of Cyan for
increasing Viewing Angles, which is due to the
Larger Color Shift of the Red Primary [Cyan is the Complementary Color to Red].
At 30 degrees Viewing Angle the Largest Color Shift is 5.0 JNCD for Red, which is noticeable but not
objectionable. The White Shift at 30 degrees Viewing Angle is 2.0 JNCD. See the Viewing
Angles section for the measurements and details.
· Viewing Tests Performance
The Pixel 3 XL provides very nice, pleasing and very
accurate colors and picture quality. The very challenging set of DisplayMate
Test and Calibration Photos that we use to evaluate picture quality looked Absolutely Stunning and Beautiful, even to my
experienced hyper-critical eyes.
The Pixel 3 XL excels due to its High Absolute Color
Accuracy (1.1 JNCD), which is Visually
Indistinguishable from Perfect, and is very likely considerably better
than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have. So photos,
videos, and online content and merchandise will appear correct and beautiful.
See the Color Accuracy
Figures and the Colors and Intensities
section for quantitative details.
· Display Power Efficiency
While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with
mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a white background,
for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content
because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average
Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over the entire screen.
For OLEDs, Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with
Black or dark backgrounds are very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the
display power is fixed and independent of image content. Currently, OLED
displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 65
percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels
above 65 percent. Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power
efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time. See the Display Power section for the measurements and
details.
· Display Related Enhancements
· The Pixel 3 XL is IP68 water resistant in up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) of
water for up to half an hour, which means you can comfortably view the display
in typical wet indoor and outdoor conditions – even carefully use it in a tub
or shower, and it should be fine if you accidentally drop it in a sink or
toilet.
· The Pixel 3 XL can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and
Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work in only one of
the two orientations.
· The Pixel 3 XL has Gorilla Glass 5, which provides much higher
resistance to scratching and breakage.
Pixel 3 XL Display Conclusions:
The primary goal of this Display Technology Shoot-Out
article series has always been to publicize and promote display excellence
so that consumers, journalists and even manufacturers are aware of and appreciate
the very best in displays and display technology. We point out which
manufactures and display technologies are leading and advancing the
state-of-the-art for displays by performing comprehensive and objective
scientific Lab tests and measurements together with in-depth analysis. We point
out who is leading, who is behind, who is improving, and sometimes
(unfortunately) who is back pedaling… all based solely on the extensive
objective careful Lab Measurements that we also publish, so that everyone can judge
the data for themselves as well…
Summary of the Pixel 3 XL Display
Functions, Features, and Performance Records:
The Pixel 3 XL has many major
and important State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features,
including a number of Display Performance Records, which are summarized below.
See the Display Shoot-Out Lab
Measurements Comparison Table section below for the complete set of Lab
tests and measurements.
See the Display Highlights and
Performance Results section above for a detailed overview with expanded
discussions and explanations.
See the Display Assessments
section for the evaluation details.
The Pixel 3 XL has the following
State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features:
· A
State-of-the-Art OLED display that is
manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate. While
the OLED display itself is flexible, the screen remains rigid under an outer
hard cover glass.
· A Full Screen design
with a large 6.3 inch
OLED display that fills almost the entire
front face of the Pixel 3 XL from edge-to-edge, providing a
significantly larger display for the same phone size.
· A display form factor with a tall height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06, which is 16% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most
Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall
shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape
mode.
· A 3K High Resolution 2960 x 1440 Full HD+ Display with 523 pixels per inch, and Diamond Sub-Pixels with Sub-Pixel Rendering for enhanced sharpness and higher
Peak Brightness.
· The Pixel 3
XL display appears Perfectly Sharp for normal 20/20
Vision at Typical Smartphone Viewing Distances of 10 to 18 inches (25 to 46
cm).
· A High 100%
APL Calibrated Full Screen Brightness of 405 nits, which improves screen visibility in high
Ambient Light. On its Home Screen the Pixel 3
XL produces a very bright 424 nits.
· Very Low Screen Reflectance
of 4.3 percent.
· Very High Absolute Color
Accuracy (1.1 JNCD), which is Visually Indistinguishable
From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your
existing Smartphone, UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor.
· Color Accuracy and
Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content APL.
· 2 Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color
Gamut that is used for most current consumer
content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is
26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut.
· Automatic Color Management that switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed
image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so
images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither being
over-saturated or under-saturated.
· 3 Selectable Color Modes for
Color Gamuts that provide user control of the color Vividness from Natural to Boosted and Adaptive.
· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR, which allows the Pixel 3 XL to play 4K High
Dynamic Range content produced for 4K UHD TVs.
· An Always On Display with day and night modes.
· A Night Light Mode that
allows the user to adjust and reduce the amount of Blue Light from the display
for better night viewing and improved sleep.
· Small Color Shifts and Small
Brightness Shifts with Viewing
Angle, including White, which is the
most used background color.
· The Pixel 3 XL
can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both
the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work
in only one of the two orientations.
The Pixel 3
XL Matches or Sets New Smartphone Display Performance Records for:
Note that Numerical Performance
Differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are considered Matched and Tied
Performance Records.
· Highest Absolute Color Accuracy (1.1 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.
· Smallest Shift in Color Accuracy with Change in Image Content APL
(0.7 JNCD).
· Highest Contrast Ratio (Infinite).
· Lowest Screen Reflectance (4.3 percent).
· Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (28 percent
at 30 degrees).
· Highest Visible Screen Resolution 3K (2960x1440) – 4K Does Not appear visually sharper on a Smartphone.
Pixel 3 XL
Display Performance Summary:
Data Tables: See
the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table
section below for the complete set of the Lab tests.
Highlights: See
the Display Highlights and Performance Results
section above for expanded discussions and explanations.
Performance: See
the State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions
and Features section above.
Assessments: See
the Display Assessments section below for the
evaluation details.
DisplayMate
Best Smartphone Display Award
OLED has evolved into a highly refined and mature display technology that
now produces the best and highest performance displays for Smartphones.
OLED Display Performance continues to
provide major Record Setting improvements with each new generation.
With consumers now spending rapidly increasing amounts of
time watching content on their Smartphones, the shift in emphasis from
primarily improving Display Hardware Performance to enhancing the overall
Display Picture Quality and Color Accuracy is an important step that DisplayMate
Technologies has been pushing for many years in our Display Technology Shoot-Out article
series, so it’s great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these
metrics.
The Pixel 3 XL has a Very Impressive Top
Tier Smartphone Display
The Pixel 3 XL delivers
uniformly consistent all around Top Tier Display
Performance and receives All Green [Very Good
to Excellent] Ratings in All of
the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement Categories. The Pixel 3 XL is only the third display we have ever
tested to get All Green in All Categories – the
Galaxy S9 and Galaxy
Note9 were the first. The Pixel 3 XL
receives an Overall Display Assessment Grade of A+.
Google has improved the
on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays by
implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration,
moving the overall Pixel 3 XL display
performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching a number of Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing
Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor.
DisplayMate
Best Smartphone Display Award for the Pixel 3 XL
The Pixel 3 XL has a
very impressive Top Tier display with close to Text Book Perfect Calibration
Accuracy and Performance that is Visually
Indistinguishable From Perfect. Based on our extensive Lab Tests and
Measurements the Pixel 3 XL receives a DisplayMate
Best Smartphone Display Award earning DisplayMate’s highest ever Overall Display Assessment Grade of A+ by providing
considerably better display performance than other competing Smartphones. This
demonstrates that Google recognizes the importance of Display Excellence and
has made a major commitment to improving Smartphone Display Performance.
Google Joins
the Top Tier of Smartphone Displays that now includes Samsung, Apple, and
Google
The Pixel 3 XL
joins four Top Tier Smartphone Displays:
the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note9,
iPhone X, and
iPhone XS Max,
that all provide close to Text Book Perfect
Calibration Accuracy and Performance that is Visually
Indistinguishable From Perfect, so they All
received and maintain Concurrent DisplayMate
Best Smartphone Display Awards. All are Excellent State-of-the-Art
Displays, each is better in some Display Performance Categories, but none is
best in everything. Note that measured numerical display performance
differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are equivalent.
As Display Performance continues
to improve we have and will continue to raise the Performance Levels necessary
to receive a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award, so the Top Tier of Smartphone Displays will continue to evolve and change with each new generation.
OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages
over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to
compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive
premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future
over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware
performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder
for new display technologies to challenge OLED.
Follow DisplayMate
on Twitter to learn about our upcoming Smartphone display technology
coverage.
Improving
the Next Generation of Mobile Displays
The Pixel 3 XL has a very
high resolution 3K 2960x1440 pixel display with 523 pixels per inch (ppi)
producing images that look perfectly sharp with normal 20/20 Vision under all
normal viewing conditions, which always includes some ambient light that always
lowers the visible image contrast and perceived image sharpness (Modulation
Transfer MTF). Note that displays are almost never
viewed in absolute darkness under perfect viewing conditions with ideal image
content. Some clueless reviewers have been pining for 4K 3840x2160
Smartphones, which would require double the pixels, memory, and processing
power of the 2960x1440 display on the Pixel 3 XL, but there would be no visual benefit for humans! As a result, it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display
resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) for a marketing wild goose chase into the
stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!
With screen size and resolution
already functionally maxed out, manufacturers should instead dedicate their
efforts and resources into improving real world display performance in ambient
light by using advanced technology to restore and compensate for the loss of
color gamut, color saturation, and image contrast due to ambient light,
something that every consumer will benefit from, and will also immediately
notice and appreciate – providing a true sales and marketing advantage…
The most important improvements for OLED and LCD mobile
displays will come from improving their image and picture quality and screen
readability in real world ambient light, which washes out the screen images,
resulting in reduced image contrast, color saturation, and color accuracy. The
key will be in lowering the Screen Reflectance
and implementing Dynamic Color Management with
automatic real-time modification of the display’s native Color Gamut and Dynamic Intensity Scales based on the measured
Ambient Light level in order to have them compensate for the reflected light
glare and image wash out that causes a loss of color saturation and image
contrast from ambient light as discussed in our Innovative
Displays and Display Technology and SID
Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.
The displays, technologies, and
manufacturers that succeed in implementing this new real world high ambient
light performance strategy will take the lead in the next generations of mobile
displays… Follow DisplayMate
on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display
technology coverage.
DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology
All
Smartphone, Tablet, Monitor and TV displays can be significantly improved using
DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical
display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration,
and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement,
prototype development, display performance improvement and optimization,
testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control
so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our
public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a
lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization
Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a
display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display
performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.
|
Pixel 3 XL
|
Pixel 3 XL Display Shoot-Out Lab
Measurements Comparison Table
Below we
examine in-depth the OLED display on the Google Pixel
3 XL based on objective Lab measurement
data and criteria
in the
following sections: Display Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen
Reflections, Brightness and Contrast,
Colors and Intensities, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing
Angles, OLED Spectra, Display
Power.
For
additional background information see this earlier article covering the Flagship OLED
2017 Smartphones.
Detailed Test and Measurement Comparisons between
the Pixel 3 XL, the iPhone XS Max, and Galaxy Note9 Displays
You can directly compare the data and measurement results
for the Pixel 3 XL with the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy Note9 displays
in detail by using a Tabbed web browser with our
comprehensive Lab Measurements and Analysis for each of the displays.
For each Tab click on a Link below. The entries are
mostly identical with only minor formatting differences,
so it is easy to make detailed side-by-side comparisons
by simply clicking through the Tabs.
Google Pixel 3 XL Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table
Apple iPhone
XS Max Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table
Samsung
Galaxy Note9 Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table
For
comparisons with the other leading Smartphone, Tablet, and Smart Watch displays
see our Mobile Display
Technology Shoot-Out series.
|
Categories
|
Google
Pixel 3 XL
|
Comments
|
|
Display Technology
|
Flexible
OLED Display with Diamond Sub-Pixels
6.3 inch
Diagonal / 16.0 cm Diagonal
Excluding
the Rounded Corners
|
Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode
Diamond Sub-Pixels with Diagonal Symmetry.
|
|
Screen Aspect Ratio
|
18.5 : 9 =
2.06
Higher
Aspect Ratio
Most
Smartphones and Widescreen TVs have 16 : 9 = 1.78
|
Height to Width Aspect Ratio
Pixel 3 XL display screen is 16% longer
than
most Smartphones and widescreen 16:9 TV
content.
|
|
Screen Size
|
2.75 x
5.66 inches
7.00 x
14.38 cm
|
Display Width and Height in inches and
cm.
|
|
Screen Area
|
15.2 square inches / 98
square cm
After
Subtracting the Top Slot Area but not the Rounded Corners
|
A better measure of size than the
diagonal length.
|
|
Supported Color Gamuts
|
Wide Gamut
– DCI-P3 Digital Cinema Color Gamut
Standard
Gamut – sRGB / Rec.709 Standard Color Gamut
Automatic
Color Management for Content with ICC Color Profiles
|
The Pixel 3 XL supports 2 Color Gamuts
including
the new wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is
used
in the 4K Ultra HD TV content.
|
|
Display Resolution
|
2960 x 1440
pixels
3K Quad
HD+
|
Screen Pixel Resolution.
Quad HD can display four 1280x720 HD
images.
|
|
Total Number of Pixels
|
4.2 Mega
Pixels
|
Total Number of Display Pixels.
|
|
Pixels Per Inch
|
523 PPI
with Diamond Sub-Pixels
Excellent
|
Sharpness depends on the viewing distance
and PPI.
See this on
the visual acuity for a true Retina Display
|
|
Sub-Pixels Per Inch
|
Red
370 SPPI
Green
523 SPPI
Blue
370 SPPI
|
Diamond Sub-Pixel displays have only half
the number
of Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as RGB Stripe
displays.
See Diamond Sub-Pixels
|
|
Total Number of Sub-Pixels
|
Red
2.1 Million Sub-Pixels
Green 4.2
Million Sub-Pixels
Blue
2.1 Million Sub-Pixels
|
Number of Mega Sub-Pixels for Red,
Green, Blue.
Diamond Sub-Pixel displays have only half
the number
of Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as RGB Stripe
displays.
At High PPI this is generally not visible
due to the
use of Sub-Pixel Rendering.
|
|
20/20 Vision Distance
where Pixels or Sub-Pixels
are Not Resolved
|
6.6 inches / 16.7 cm for White and Green Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision
9.3
inches / 23.6 cm for Red and Blue Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision
|
For 20/20 Vision the minimum Viewing
Distance
where the screen appears perfectly sharp
to the eye.
|
|
Display Sharpness
at Typical Viewing Distances
|
Pixel 3 XL Display
appears Perfectly Sharp
Pixels are
not Resolved with 20/20 Vision
at Typical
Viewing Distances of
12 to
18 inches
30 to 46
cm
|
The Typical Viewing Distances for this
screen size
are in the range of 12 to 18 inches or
30 to 46 cm.
Also note that eye’s resolution is much
lower for
Red and Blue color content than White
and Green.
|
|
Appears Perfectly Sharp
at Typical Viewing Distances
|
Yes
|
Typical Viewing Distances are 12 to 18
inches
or 30 to 46 cm for this screen size.
|
|
Photo Viewer Color Depth
|
Full
24-bit Color
No
Dithering Visible
256
Intensity Levels
|
Some Smartphones and Tablets still have
some
form of 16-bit color depth in the
Gallery Viewer.
The Google Pixel 3 XL does not have this
issue.
|
|
Overall Assessments
This section summarizes
the results for all of the extensive Display Lab Measurements and Viewing
Tests performed on the display.
See Screen Reflections, Brightness
and Contrast, Colors and Intensities,
Viewing Angles, OLED
Spectra, Display Power.
The
Pixel 3 XL has Automatic Color Management that switches to the appropriate
Color Gamut for the current on-screen content.
Note
that all of the tests and measurements are with the Natural
Color Mode which provides the Highest Accuracy.
The
DCI-P3 Digital Cinema Color Gamut is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs, and other advanced imaging
applications.
The
sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut is used for most current consumer photo, video,
web, and computer content.
|
Categories
|
Wide
Gamut
DCI-P3
Digital Cinema
|
Standard
Gamut
sRGB /
Rec.709 Content
|
Comments
|
|
Viewing Tests
in Subdued Ambient Lighting
|
Excellent
Images
Photos and
Videos
have
Excellent Color
and
Accurate Contrast
Accurate
Wide Gamut
|
Excellent
Images
Photos and
Videos
have
Excellent Color
and
Accurate Contrast
Accurate
Standard Gamut
|
The Viewing Tests examine the accuracy
of
photographic images by comparing the
displays
to an accurately calibrated studio
monitor and TV.
|
|
Variation with Viewing Angle
Colors and Brightness
See Viewing Angles
|
Small
Color Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
Small
Brightness Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
|
Small Color
Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
Small
Brightness Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
|
The Pixel 3 XL display has a relatively
small
decrease in Brightness with Viewing
Angle and
relatively small Color Shifts with
Viewing Angle.
See the Viewing Angles section for details.
|
|
Overall Display Assessment
Lab Tests and Measurements
|
Excellent
OLED Display
Accurate
Wide Gamut
|
Excellent
OLED Display
Accurate
Standard Gamut
|
The Pixel 3 XL OLED Display performed
very well in the Lab Tests and
Measurements.
|
|
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Measured over Entire Gamut
See Figure 2 and Colors
|
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Color
Errors are Very Small
Accurate
Wide Gamut
|
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Color
Errors are Very Small
Accurate
Standard Gamut
|
Absolute
Color Accuracy is measured with a
Spectroradiometer
for 41
Reference Colors
uniformly
distributed within the entire Color Gamut.
See
Figure 2 and Colors for details.
|
|
Image Contrast Accuracy
See Figure 3 and Contrast
|
Excellent
Contrast Accuracy
Image
Contrast
Very
Accurate
|
Excellent
Contrast Accuracy
Image
Contrast
Very
Accurate
|
The
Image Contrast Accuracy is determined by
measuring
the Log Intensity Scale and Gamma.
See
Figure 3 and Contrast for details.
|
|
Performance in Ambient Light
Display Brightness
Screen Reflectance
Contrast Rating
See Brightness and Contrast
See Screen Reflections
|
High
Display Brightness
Record Low
Reflectance
High
Contrast Rating
for Ambient
Light
|
High
Display Brightness
Record Low
Reflectance
High
Contrast Rating
for Ambient
Light
|
Smartphones
are seldom used in the dark.
Screen
Brightness and Reflectance determine
the
Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light.
See
the Brightness and Contrast section for details.
See
the Screen Reflections section for details.
|
|
Overall Display Calibration
Image and Picture Quality
Lab Tests and Viewing Tests
|
Excellent
Calibration
Accurate
Wide Gamut
|
Excellent
Calibration
Accurate
Standard Gamut
|
Pixel 3 XL display delivers accurately
calibrated
colors and images for both the Wide
Gamut and
Standard Gamut.
|
|
|
Overall Display Grade
Overall
Assessment
|
Overall Pixel 3 XL Display
Grade is Excellent A+
|
The Pixel 3 XL display delivers excellent
image quality, has both Wide Color Gamut
and Standard Color Gamut modes, with
high Screen Brightness and low
Reflectance,
has good Viewing Angles, and is an all
around
top performing Smartphone display.
|
|
Accurate
Wide Gamut
For Viewing
4K UHD TV
DCI-P3
Cinema Content
|
Accurate
Standard Gamut
For Viewing
Most Content
Photo Video
Movie Web
|
Categories
|
Wide
Gamut
DCI-P3
Digital Cinema
|
Standard
Gamut
sRGB /
Rec.709 Content
|
Comments
|
|
Screen Reflections
All display screens are mirrors good enough to use
for personal grooming – but that is actually a very bad feature…
We measured the light reflected from all directions
and also direct mirror (specular) reflections, which are much more
distracting and cause more eye strain. Many
Smartphones still have greater than 10 percent reflections that make the
screen much harder to read even in moderate ambient
light levels, requiring ever higher brightness settings that waste
precious battery power. Hopefully manufacturers
will reduce the mirror reflections with anti-reflection coatings and
matte or haze surface finishes.
Our Lab Measurements include Average
Reflectance for Ambient Light from All Directions and for Mirror Reflections.
We use an Integrating Hemisphere and a
highly collimated pencil light beam together with a Spectroradiometer.
Note the Screen Reflectance
is exactly the same for both Color Gamuts.
The Pixel 3 XL has the lowest Screen
Reflectance levels that we have ever measured for a Smartphone.
These results are extremely important
for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.
|
Categories
|
Pixel 3
XL
|
Comments
|
|
Average Screen Reflection
Light From All Directions
|
Record Low
4.3 percent
for
Ambient Light Reflections
Excellent
|
Measured using an Integrating Hemisphere
and
a Spectroradiometer.
The lowest value we have ever measured
for a Smartphone is 4.3 percent.
|
|
Mirror Reflections
Percentage of Light Reflected
|
Record Low
5.4 percent
for Mirror
Reflections
Very Good
|
These are the most annoying types of
Reflections.
Measured using a Spectroradiometer and a
narrow
collimated pencil beam of light
reflected off the screen.
The lowest value we have ever measured
for a Smartphone is 5.4 percent.
|
|
Brightness and Contrast
The Contrast Ratio
is the specification that gets the most attention, but it only applies for
low ambient light, which is seldom
the case for mobile displays.
Much more important is the Contrast
Rating, which indicates how easy it is to read the screen under
high ambient lighting and depends on both
the Maximum Brightness and the Screen Reflectance. The larger the better.
The display’s actual on-screen Contrast Ratio changes with the Ambient Light lux
level and is proportional to the Contrast Rating.
|
Categories
|
Wide
Gamut
DCI-P3
Digital Cinema
|
Standard
Gamut
sRGB /
Rec.709 Content
|
Comments
|
|
Home Screen Peak Brightness
Measured for White
|
Brightness
424 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
424 cd/m2
Very Good
|
The Peak Brightness for White on the
Home Screen.
|
|
Measured Average Brightness
50% Average Picture Level
|
Brightness
417 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
416 cd/m2
Very Good
|
This is the Brightness for typical
screen content
that has a 50% Average Picture Level.
|
|
Measured Full Brightness
100% Full Screen White
|
Brightness
406 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
405 cd/m2
Very Good
|
This is the Brightness for a screen that
is entirely
all white with 100% Average Picture
Level.
|
|
Measured Peak Brightness
1% Average Picture Level
|
Brightness
434 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
433 cd/m2
Very Good
|
This is the Peak Brightness for a screen
that
has only a tiny 1% Average Picture
Level.
|
|
Dynamic Brightness
Change in Luminance with
Average Picture Level APL
|
6 percent
Decrease
Very Good
|
6 percent
Decrease
Very Good
|
This is the percent Brightness decrease
with APL,
Average Picture Level. Ideally should be
0 percent.
|
|
Low Ambient Light
|
|
Lowest Peak Brightness
Super Dim Setting
Brightness Slider to Minimum
|
3 cd/m2
For Very
Low Light
|
3 cd/m2
For Very
Low Light
|
This is the Lowest Brightness with the
Slider set to
Minimum. This is useful for working in
very dark
environments. Picture Quality remains
Excellent.
|
|
Black Brightness at 0 lux
at Maximum Brightness Setting
|
0 cd/m2
Outstanding
|
0 cd/m2
Outstanding
|
Black Brightness is important for Low
Ambient Light,
which is seldom the case for mobile
devices.
|
|
Contrast Ratio at 0 lux
Relevant for Low Ambient Light
|
Infinite
Outstanding
|
Infinite
Outstanding
|
Only relevant for Low Ambient Light,
which is seldom the case for mobile
devices.
|
|
High Ambient Light
|
|
Measured Auto Brightness
in High Ambient Light
with Automatic Brightness On
|
Auto
Brightness
in High
Ambient Light
406 – 434
cd/m2
Very Good
|
Auto
Brightness
in High
Ambient Light
405 – 433
cd/m2
Very Good
|
The Maximum Brightness is the same
for both the Manual and Auto Brightness
modes.
|
|
Contrast Rating
for High Ambient Light
The Higher the Better
for Screen Readability
in High Ambient Light
|
94 – 101
Very Good
|
94 – 101
Very Good
|
Depends on the Screen Reflectance and
Brightness.
Defined as Maximum Brightness / Average Reflectance.
The display’s actual on-screen Contrast
Ratio
changes with the Ambient Light lux level
and
is proportional to the Contrast Rating.
|
|
Screen Readability
in High Ambient Light
|
Excellent:
A
|
Excellent: A
|
Indicates how easy it is to read the
screen
under High Ambient Lighting. Depends on
both the Screen Reflectance and
Brightness.
See High
Ambient Light Screen Shots
|
|
Colors and Intensities
The Color Gamut, Intensity Scale, and White Point
determine the quality and accuracy of all displayed images and all
the image colors. Bigger is definitely Not Better
because the display needs to match all the standards that were used
when the content was produced.
The Pixel 3 XL has Automatic Color
Management that switches to the appropriate Color Gamut for the current
on-screen content.
|
Categories
|
Wide
Gamut
DCI-P3
Digital Cinema
|
Standard
Gamut
sRGB /
Rec.709 Content
|
Comments
|
|
Color of White
Color Temperature in degrees
Measured in the dark at 0 lux
See Figure 1
|
6,701 K
0.6 JNCD
from D65 White
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Wide Gamut
See Figure 1
|
6,700 K
0.6 JNCD
from D65 White
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Standard Gamut
See Figure 1
|
D65 with 6,500 K is the standard color
of White
for most Consumer Content and needed for
accurate color reproduction of all
images.
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
White Point accuracy is more critical than
other colors.
See Figure 1
for the plotted White Points.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
|
|
Color Gamut
Measured in the dark at 0 lux
See Figure 1
|
103 percent
DCI-P3
Cinema Gamut
with Natural Color Mode
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Wide Gamut
108 percent
DCI-P3
Cinema Gamut
with Boosted Color Mode
Intentionally
Over Saturated
See Figure 1
|
105 percent
sRGB /
Rec.709 Gamut
with Natural Color Mode
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Standard Gamut
119 percent
DCI-P3 Cinema
Gamut
with Boosted Color Mode
Intentionally
Over Saturated
See Figure 1
|
Most current consumer content uses sRGB /
Rec.709.
The new 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema use
DCI-P3.
A Wide Color Gamut is useful in High
Ambient Light
and for some applications. It can be used
with Color
Management to dynamically change the
Gamut.
See Figure 1
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Natural Color Mode
Average Color Error at 0 lux
For 41 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2
|
Average
Color Error
From
DCI-P3
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0040
1.0
JNCD
with Natural Color Mode
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Accurate
Wide Gamut
See Figure 2
|
Average
Color Error
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0044
1.1 JNCD
with Natural Color Mode
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Accurate
Standard Gamut
See Figure 2
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD and for
Accuracy Plots showing
the measured Color Errors.
Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Color Errors 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Natural Color Mode
Largest Color Error at 0 lux
For 41 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2
|
Largest Color Error
From
DCI-P3
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0085
2.1 JNCD
for 100% Blue-Magenta
with Natural Color Mode
Very Good
Accuracy
Accurate
Wide Gamut
See Figure 2
|
Largest Color Error
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0121
3.0 JNCD
for 100% Blue-Magenta
with Natural Color Mode
Very Good
Accuracy
Accurate
Standard Gamut
See Figure 2
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD and for
Accuracy Plots showing
the measured Color Errors.
Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Color Errors 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with Average Picture Level APL
Measured Shifts in Absolute Color
Accuracy with Image Content from Low 1% APL to High 50% APL
|
|
Shift in the Color of White
Natural Color Mode
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 4
|
White Point
Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0017
0.4 JNCD
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
White Point
Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0013
0.3 JNCD
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
See Figure 4 for the
measured Color Shifts.
Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Color Shifts 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
|
Average Color Shift
Natural Color Mode
For 41 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 4
|
Average
Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0020
0.5 JNCD
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
Average
Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0030
0.7 JNCD
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
See Figure 4 for the
measured Color Shifts.
Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Color Shifts 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
|
Largest Color Shift
Natural Color Mode
For 41 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 4
|
Largest Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0056
1.4 JNCD
for 50% Blue
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
Largest Color Shift
from Low
to High APL
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0065
1.6 JNCD
for 75% Red
Excellent
See Figure 4
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
See Figure 4 for the
measured Color Shifts.
Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Color Shifts 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
|
Intensity Scale and Image Contrast Accuracy
|
|
Intensity Scale and
Image Contrast
See Figure 3
|
Smooth
and Straight
Excellent
Very
Accurate
See Figure 3
|
Smooth and
Straight
Excellent
Very
Accurate
See Figure 3
|
The Intensity Scale controls image
contrast needed
for accurate Image Contrast and Color
reproduction.
See Figure 3
|
|
Gamma for the Intensity Scale
Larger has more Image Contrast
See Figure 3
|
Gamma 2.23
Excellent
Gamma Very
Accurate
|
Gamma 2.23
Excellent
Gamma Very
Accurate
|
Gamma is the log slope of the Intensity
Scale.
Gamma of 2.20 is the standard and needed
for
accurate Image Contrast and Color
reproduction.
See Figure 3
|
|
Image Contrast Accuracy
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
See Figure 3
|
|
Viewing Angles
The variation of
Brightness, Contrast, and Color with Viewing Angle is especially important
for Smartphones because
of their larger screen
and multiple viewers. The typical manufacturer 176+ degree specification for
LCD Viewing Angle
is nonsense because that
is where the Contrast Ratio falls to a miniscule 10. For most LCDs there are
substantial
degradations at less
than ±30 degrees, which is not an atypical Viewing Angle for Smartphones and
Tablets.
Note
that the Viewing Angle performance is also very important for a single viewer
because the Viewing Angle can vary
significantly
based on how the Smartphone is held. The Viewing Angle can be very large if
resting on a table or desk.
The
Viewing Angle variations are essentially identical for both the Wide and
Standard Gamuts.
The
Pixel 3 XL display has a Brightness (Luminance) fall off with Viewing Angle
that is much smaller than the best LCD displays.
There
is a small Color Shift in the direction of Cyan for increasing Viewing
Angles, which is due to a Larger Color Shift
of
the Red Primary [Cyan is the Complementary Color to Red]. At 30 degrees Viewing Angle the Largest Color Shift
is
5.0 JNCD for Red, which is noticeable but not objectionable.
|
Categories
|
Wide
Gamut
DCI-P3
Digital Cinema
|
Standard
Gamut
sRGB /
Rec.709 Content
|
Comments
|
|
Brightness Decrease
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
28 percent
Decrease
Small
Decrease
Very Good
|
Most screens become less bright when
tilted.
OLED decrease is due to optical
absorption.
LCD decrease is generally greater than 50
percent.
|
|
Contrast Ratio at 0 lux
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Infinite
Contrast Ratio
Outstanding
|
A measure of screen readability when the
screen
is tilted under low ambient lighting.
|
|
White Point Color Shift
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Small Color
Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0082
2.0 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
|
|
Primary Color Shifts
Largest Color Shift for R,G,B
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Largest Color Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0202 for Red
5.0 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
Largest Color Shifts below 5.0 JNCD are Very
Good.
|
|
Color Shifts for Color Mixtures
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
Reference Brown (255, 128, 0)
|
Small
Color Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0133
3.3 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
Color Shifts for non-IPS LCDs are about 10
JNCD.
Reference Brown is a good indicator of
color shifts
with angle because of unequal drive
levels and
roughly equal luminance contributions
from Red
and Green. See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
|
|
Display Spectra
The Display Spectra for the Pixel 3 XL
including the Night Light mode are measured in Figure 5 below.
The Night Light mode is designed to
change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue
Light
produced by the display,
which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep
afterwards.
Display Power Consumption
The display power was measured using a Linear
Regression between Luminance and AC Power with a fully charged battery.
Since the displays can have different screen sizes
and maximum brightness, the display power values below are also scaled
to the same screen Brightness (Luminance) and same
Screen Area in order to compare their Relative Power
Efficiencies.
Comparison with LCDs
While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with
mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a
white background, for example), OLEDs are more power
efficient for typical mixed image content because they are
emissive displays so their power varies with the
Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over
the entire screen. For OLEDs, Black pixels and
sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black backgrounds are
very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the display
power is fixed and independent of image content.
Currently, OLED displays are
more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 65 percent or
less, and
LCDs are more power efficient
for Average Picture Levels above 65 percent.
Since both technologies are continuing to improve their
power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time.
For OLEDs the Display Power
depends on the APL of the Picture Content.
An entirely Black OLED Screen
uses 0 watts of Display Power.
|
Categories
|
Pixel
3 XL
|
Comments
|
|
Average Display Power
Maximum Brightness at
50% Average Picture
Level
|
50%
Average Picture Level
1.05
watts
with 416
cd/m2
15.2 inch2
Screen Area
|
This measures the Average Display
Power for
a typical range of image content.
|
|
Maximum Display Power
Full White Screen
at Maximum Brightness
|
Maximum
Power
Full
Screen White
2.10
watts
with
405 cd/m2
15.2 inch2
Screen Area
|
This measures the Maximum Display
power for
a screen that is entirely Peak White.
|
|
About the Author
Dr. Raymond Soneira is
President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire,
which produces display calibration, evaluation, and diagnostic products for
consumers, technicians, and manufacturers. See www.displaymate.com. He is a research
scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television
system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from
Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous
Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal
Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell
Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television
broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development
Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in
physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any
comments or questions about the article, you can contact him at dtso.info@displaymate.com.
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Article Links: Apple
iPhone XS Max OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out
Article Links: Samsung
Galaxy Note9 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out
Article Links: Display
Color Gamuts Shoot-Out NTSC to Rec.2020
Article Links: Absolute
Color Accuracy Display Technology Shoot-Out
Article Links: Watching
Displays at Night
Article Links: Display Technology Shoot-Out
Article Series Overview and Home Page
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